Blitzen Trapper

Oregon's Blitzen Trapper apparently listened to the striking but too-mild country rock of their fourth album, 2008's Furr, and decided it was missing something—maybe the more pronounced influence of Yes and Queen? So they've turned up the guitars and come back with more chords and grooves on Destroyer of the Void, their new one for Sub Pop, but fewer tunes as immediately memorable as "Furr," "Black River Killer," or "God & Suicide"—whose melody they recycle for "The Tree," a bad sign. Then again, Eric Earley has the plain, unstrained talent to sustain interest through slower-burn material, including the understated piano-orchestral number "Heaven and Earth," which might even turn out to be his best. And a growing legion of fans have nothing but slack to cut. With Avi Buffalo. 18+.
Tue., July 27, 8 p.m., 2010